A day after H D Deve Gowda hailed PM Narendra Modi for preventing him from quitting his LS membership, the JD(S) chief said on Thursday that Modi was sharper than BJP icon Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the art of public speech. Excerpts from the interview with Rohan Dua:
PM Narendra Modi was effusive in praise for you.
In the art of public speech, he is sharper than Vajpayee (laughs). Even Vajpayee ji wanted to support my government when
Congress brought it down in 1997. I refused. He has been a gentleman. I am a different person. Not a power hungry politician.
Your alliance with BSP comes at a time when Mayawati and SP chief Akhilesh joined hands to defeat BJP in LS bypolls.
This (Karnataka results) will change the entire political scenario just like bypolls in Uttar Pradesh did to defeat BJP. Tomorrow, what is going to be there, I can’t say. For this election, I am putting all my efforts to ensure that a regional party should come to power.
Does that mean that there can be a repeat of 1996, with afront of anti-BJP and anti-Congress parties like TMC, TDP, TRS, DMK and SP?
In the Hindi heartland, Congress is going down and down in the past two years. Let us be frank. Now the only state they are harping on is Karnataka. Here, their position is also similar.
Congress is alleging there is a secret understanding between you and BJP.
Congress wants to mislead the Muslim community. That’s why they are associating my name with BJP. Not a realistic approach. They want to see Muslims are misled so that they can gain. After what Congress has done to Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir or after the Godhra incident, they will fail.
So there is no chance of taking either outside support from or offering one to BJP or Congress?
(laughs). Honestly, Chandrababu Naidu, Chandrasekhar Rao, Muslim leader Asauddin Owaisi are extending cooperation. We are working like a team and that is a belief that we will form the government.
What sort of bigger role are you looking at for JD(S) at the national level? Another go at the PM’s chair?
My son HD Kumaraswamy is the new star of Karnataka. He is touring the entire state. But you can never predict a future.
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